I wish I had a solid connection to the Civil War. My family (my grandmother's Irish side) came in 1849, and aside from my ggg-grandmother the whole family is just gone! I would think it was possible for her one brother to have served, but I may never know for sure.

On a Who Do You Think You Are note, I thought Ashley Judd's episode was great! However I really did not like Gwyneth Paltrow's episode...at all. Maybe it was just me. I thought Rosie O'Donnell's was awesome! I think they picked it up for a 3rd season!

Half Sicilian blood and 1/4 Irish, 1/4 German. The Irish and some of the Germans emigrated prior to the Civil War so there is a possibility that I might find something there. On my wife's side, good old southern born belle that she is, there are definitely ancestors with Civil War connections that I've discovered, even some correspondence written at that time by some who were in the Confederacy. The War of 1812 and the Revolutionary War also have possible connections. What is really hard to deal with is the issue of slavery. Looking at a Slave Census is not uplifting.

What is really hard to deal with is the issue of slavery. Looking at a Slave Census is not uplifting.

I hear you. I believe some of my husbands family may have had Southern roots but to be honest, I don't have enough information to look back that far yet. I'm sure it will be a real eye opener for some of the family once I do look.

MikeSavoca91 wrote:

On a Who Do You Think You Are note, I thought Ashley Judd's episode was great! However I really did not like Gwyneth Paltrow's episode...at all. Maybe it was just me. I thought Rosie O'Donnell's was awesome! I think they picked it up for a 3rd season!

I only saw half of the Ashley Judd episode but it definitely was better then Gwyneth Paltrow's which didn't really leave an impression. Rosie's was awesome - interesting history lesson in there.

I just didn't feel like she connected with the project at all. Other people have emotional journeys, and I missed that about Paltrow's show. I just wish they would do an episode with a Southern Italian.

Just a note on the slavery discussion... Slavery was not just an American institution and it was very prevelant in Italy up until the 17th century. Most adult baptism records are actually conversions of Turkish, Moorish or Greek Orthodox slaves that become part of the community somehow. I read one account from Molfetta from the 1600 where young turkish slaves were baptized and then assigned commonly found surnames from the city. Perhaps they were the former names of their owners, similar to the naming practices in the U.S....

Some interesting info on Italians in the US Civil War and the Little Big Horn:

"•An estimated 5,000 to 10,000 Italians fought in the American Civil War for both the North and the South. The exact number is not known since many names were Americanized.

•Giuseppe Garibaldi, who led Italy to unification in 1861, was offered a command as Major General in the Union Army by President Lincoln. Garibaldi declined, but to honor him, the 39th New York Infantry was known as the Garibaldi Guard. About 150 of its 850 men were Italian. It fought in the Union Army from Bull Run to Appomattox.

•More than 100 Italian Americans served as officers in the Union forces during the Civil War including 4 generals; 2 naval commanders; 11 naval officers; 9 colonels and lieutenant colonels; and 28 majors and captains. The exact number is unknown because of the Americanization of Italian surnames and mixed marriages.

•Four Italian Americans became generals during or following their Civil War service: Luigi Palma di Cesnola; Enrico Fardella; Eduardo Ferrero; and Francis Spinola. Gen. Ferrero of the 51st N.Y. Regiment, was among the first Union officers to command black troops. Col. di Cesnola, commander of the 4th NY Cavalry, received the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor. It was awarded in 1897.

•Among the handful of survivors of the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876 were four Italian Americans: Lieutenant Charles De Rudio, and enlisted men Augusto De Voto, Giovanni Casella (listed as "John James") and John Martin, (born "Martini")."--National Italian American Foundation.

MauroMags, Biff - very interesting information. Perhaps Ancestry will approach Antonin Scalia to do a search. Can't say I hold with his jurisprudence views but the ancestral research might be interesting since his father emigrated from Sicily.

I just didn't feel like she connected with the project at all. Other people have emotional journeys, and I missed that about Paltrow's show. I just wish they would do an episode with a Southern Italian.

Mike (and anyone else who might be interested)-- SBS Australia also does a version of the show and they had a wonderful episode with a singer named Tina Arena who traveled back to discover her roots in Sicily. The episode was available on the SBS site for a while (you had to have an Australian IP address) but it doesn't appear to be there now. I do know that a lot of these are available on file sharing sites to download, as a friend of mine from the family history center gave me a whole hard drive full. In general, I think the BBC and SBS versions are a little better, as they are a full hour (no commercials) and seem to give more information.

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